February 05, 2013

I've just finished several months of intense work, and while I'm pleased with the results (two scientific manuscripts, a grant proposal, and several public talks), that much serious effort leaves me with an intense desire to fool around on the internet.

Easy enough to do, so I'm spending some quality time with the latest internet entertainment phenomenon: the Retropolis Pulp-O-Mizer. A few quick clicks, and you can put anything you like in the style of an early 20th century pulp magazine cover. Most of my friends are Pulping up recent science fiction novels or classic children's books, but I wondered what works of science fact might look like.

December 10, 2011

I know we used to post a lot. Jim and I were coming back to you again and again to share our observations about science: I’d describe the journal article I’d just read, Jim would chime in with snarky comments about new tech. But lately, we’re just not stopping by as often, and when we do we’re far more likely to leave a 150-word calling card than to stay for a 1000 word visit. Do you feel abandoned? I don’t blame you.

No, it’s not you. Jim and I are as fond of you as ever. Time is just a commodity we’re short on these days, and when we actually have some to spare we’re usually too exhausted to put together a coherent string of words. You see, I’ve spent the past year doing neuroscience research on an NIH fellowship. And since I knew next to nothing about neuroscience when I started, I’ve spent a lot of time feeling like my brain was going to explode from the pressure of the new information I’m cramming into it. I’m finally getting some great data, but (and I’m sorry about this) I can’t share it with you until it goes through peer review. Early on I thought I might be able to squeeze a visit in at lunchtime, but then I got tapped for a committee and that slot vanished. I know that Jim had all sorts of good intentions about picking up the slack by stopping by to visit more often, maybe bring a cake, but he’s been writing a novel. That’s surprisingly time-consuming, too.

I can’t say that our workload is going to ease up anytime soon, but I do want to get together again regularly. There are a lot of interesting citizen science projects popping up that I want to chew over with you, and my file of journal articles to share is bulging at the seams. It may not be the newest news, but I guarantee that it’ll be interesting. So, are you free for coffee next week?

July 20, 2011

In other news, 42 years ago humans first left Earth bound for the Moon. Right now nobody's actively working on a return visit. Evidently six manned missions and a handful of landers have studied the Moon so completely that there's nothing new to learn.

February 07, 2011

I love this. Jonathan Liu at Wired's GeekDad posted a list describing five classic traditional kids toys. The kinds of things kids have played with for a century or more. Your grandfather -- heck, your great-great grandfather probably played with these.

His list?

1. Stick

2. Box

3. String

4. Tube

5. Dirt

I do note the absence of that perennial classic, Rock. Maybe there were too many liability issues to include it.

January 12, 2011

Tomorrow morning I'm flying down to North Carolina for the ScienceOnline conference, a lovefest of science bloggers and digerati. I suppose it's only fitting that my carry-on bag is full of gadgets to help me navigate the sessions.

December 23, 2010

In just over 6 hours, as I write this, the phased-array radars and Keyhole look-down satellites of North American Air Defense Command will begin performing the task for which they were really created -- you didn't fall for that whole "Cold War" cover story, did you? Yes, on Christmas Eve the NORAD Santa Tracker system goes on line once again. And now you can even get updates to your mobile device, in case you feel like following Santa around in person.